Penny Serenade II
by Aubrey
Summary: Mulder and Scully work to find out more about their abduction.


Penny Serenade II

By Aubrey

annette@ix.netcom.com

Rating: PG-13 strongly suggestive but not highly descriptive passages

Category: X/MSR

Spoilers: through Emily

Keywords: mythology

Date: June 1998

Summary: Sequel to Penny Serenade I. Mulder and Scully continue to

investigate the nature of their abduction.

Archive instructions: Permission to archive or list on your web page is

granted as long as my name and e-mail address are included. Just let me

know where it was archived or send me the URL.

Disclaimer: All characters which have been seen or mentioned on the

X-FILES belong to Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions, and the FOX

network, and are used without permission. I do not seek to profit, only

to entertain.

All feedback will be rewarded with profuse thanks! Send all comments to

annette@ix.netcom.com.

Note: In Part I, both Mulder and Scully return from having disappeared

for over three months without remembering what happened to them and are

surprised by Scully's subsequent medical examination results. Mulder

undergoes hypnosis to help him remember what happened while they were

gone. If it's been a while since you've read part I, it might be

helpful to read it again or, the events will come back 

to you slowly as you read this.

Special thanks to Jeannine, Jojie, and Margaret, who were kind enough to

provide me feedback on both Part I and Part II of this story.

Penny Serenade II

Part 1/2

Scully's apartment

Friday, August 14th

7:03 AM

Scully reached across to the nightstand to grab the ringing phone.

"Hello?" she answered, still half-asleep.

"Scully? Are you awake yet?"

"I am now, Mulder. I was planning to sleep in a bit more." Scully

brushed the hair away from her eyes to look at the clock besides her

bed.

"Get dressed. I'm coming over to pick you up."

"But Mul-der, you know I took the day off to go to my doctor's

appointment and go shopping," she whined playfully.

"I'll go with you, but first you have to come with me. I'll explain

when I get there."

Scully sighed and rolled herself out of bed. She was six months

pregnant now and getting a bit uncomfortable. She didn't mind though;

her son was worth it. My little boy she thought fondly as she ran her

hand across her swollen abdomen.

Outside Scully's apartment

7:47 A.M.

"Well, Mulder? What is so important?" Scully asked as she got in the

car.

"They found someone who's telling our story, Scully. His name's Mark

White and he has burn marks on his neck."

"Does he remember anything, Mulder?"

"Yes, but everyone thinks he's crazy so no one is following up on it.

He's in the psychiatric ward of Washington General."

Washington, D.C. General Hospital

8:15 A.M.

Scully and Mulder met with Mark White in the ward's visiting room.

"Who are you two?" Mr. White asked suspiciously.

"We're FBI agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder," Mulder responded. Both

of them showed the man their badges.

"FBI? Do you think I committed a crime or something?"

"No, Mr. White, we think you were a victim of a crime, just as we were.

Can you tell us what happened?" Scully asked.

"Oh, come on! I have told the story over and over. I'm tired of

telling it. No one believes me. That's why I'm here." He waved his

hand around to indicate a woman in the corner who was having a

conversation with the wall.

"Mr. White, Agent Scully and I had an experience similar to the one you

described. We are *very* interested in your story."

The man looked down at Scully's maternity blouse. "Did they do that to

you?"

Mulder and Scully exchanged looks. "Well, let's just say it happened

while we were there. We would like to hear your story first," Mulder

insisted.

"O.K, I don't remember how I got there and I can't remember how I got

back here. All I remember is the time I spent there. They made me work

on a project. I'm a biochemical engineer. They must've known that

because they made me work on developing a hazardous substance that would

cause temporary paralysis. It could make people freeze in place for

hours. After that they'd come to and not remember a thing. They tested

it on some of the other inhabitants. I got to watch the testing. They

would spray the substance in the air until it was a light fog. It

smelled like orange blossoms. The substance I came up with smelled

nasty, but somehow they made it smell sweet. The inhabitants would

breathe it in willingly; it smelled so good. Then they would freeze in

place. It was the spookiest thing I ever saw. " He looked over at

Mulder's and Scully's disapproving looks. "They made me do it!" he

added defensively. "They would shock me if I didn't do what they wanted

me to do. Look at my burn scars!" He pointed at his neck.

"Can you describe what it was like living there?" Scully asked.

"Well you should know, if you were there. The little white rooms with

the VCR instruction tapes, the meals in silence, the electric shock

collars around your neck and elbow..."

Scully felt shivers run down her spine. She remembered the pain.

Mulder took her hand when he saw her wince. "We remember it too well,"

he told Mark. "Do you remember anything else that would help us

identify where this place might be?"

"No, I'm sorry. I even tried to see if the TV would pick up a local TV

station, but it only picked up national cable. I never saw anyone

either. Hey, can you guys get me out of here? I used to have a great

job and a normal life. Now everyone thinks I'm nuts."

"We'll see what we can do, Mr. White. I'm a doctor and I'll talk to the

doctor on staff here," Scully reassured him.

Atlantic Medical Center

11:15 A.M.

"Well, Dana and Fox, the baby is doing fine. Everything looks normal,"

Scully's doctor told them.

Mulder and Scully smiled at each other. They were both excited at the

prospect of raising a child. Scully took Mulder's hand as he kissed her

tenderly on the forehead. "Time to go shopping for baby things!" Mulder

announced.

Fox Mulder's FBI basement office

Next morning

"I don't understand it, Scully. So far we have only found one person

that has returned besides us. There has got to be more."

"Well, look where he ended up. Maybe that's why we don't hear about any

others, Mulder."

Mulder smiled. They were going to be raising their child together but

they were still calling each other Mulder and Scully. Old habits are

sometimes impossible to break. "Dana?" he asked intentionally. Scully

smiled at the way he caught himself calling her Scully instead of Dana.

"What should we do, take an ad out in the paper?"

"Sure, *Fox,*" she responded somewhat awkwardly, "I can just read it

now- 'Wanted: Former inhabitants of little white rooms that used to

wear shock collars. Please contact Mr. Spooky at the FBI.' Well, I

suppose we should get some work done, Muld... Fox." Scully laid out

their latest case file on his desk. Although Mulder had turned in his

resignation from the X-Files when they returned from their abduction,

they had later decided to stay on to find out the truth about what

happened to them and why. The baby was their main motivation for this.

Neither one of them wanted to raise this child with the fear of having

him taken away from them. The most painful part of this was continuing

to maintain separate residences and not getting married. This was the

only way they could continue working together under FBI policy. Of

course, Mulder spent all of his nights at Scully's apartment. There was

no way he would leave her alone very long.

"What is it this time, Scul... Dana?"

"It's O.K. if we continue to call each other Mulder and Scully, you

know."

"Yeah, I suppose it makes it easier for us to pretend that things are

still the way they were before we were abducted," he added, although

that was the last thing he would want. He had never been happier in his

life then he was at this time.

Scully read the case file summary. "Here's one where a young boy

reported that his parents were frozen... Mulder! This is what Mark

White described this morning. The boy said that they woke up hours

later and couldn't remember what happened to them. The parents, a Mr.

and Mrs. Jordan, reported day turning instantly into night."

"Let's go talk to them, Scully."

In the car on the way there, Mulder asked Scully if she ever watched the

Twilight Zone, or the Outer Limits. "Sure, Mulder."

"Funny. I never thought that you would have. I mean..."

"Mulder, I can appreciate a little fantasy every once in a while."

Mulder gave her one of his seductive smiles. "Mmmm... How about tonight

then, Dana?" She smiled back shyly.

"Why do you ask, Fox? I mean, about watching Twilight Zone and Outer

Limits?"

Mulder began to talk to himself out loud. "I got her to call me Fox

again. I wonder if there is correlation between being turned on and the

name she calls me." He began to imitate her, "'Oh yes, Fox, yes!' I

think there must be. I don't remember a 'Oh yes, Mulder, yes!'"

"Mulder! Why did you ask?"

"Oh right, it's just that I remember episodes in which time stopped for

some people who just stood there, frozen in place."

"I think I saw a few of those episodes, Mulder," Scully responded,

noting that she sometimes wished time would freeze during the moments

Mulder was just describing. "But this time, it isn't time that stops-

it's the people that are becoming paralyzed by the orange blossom

spray. What are you getting at?"

"I just thought that maybe someone wanted the same effect- to freeze

time momentarily," he said softly and suggestively. Mulder began having

the same thoughts that Scully had about moments he would have liked to

stop time. He took his eyes off the road to look over. He gazed at her

in the way he looked at her when he was about to pull her into her

bedroom. Scully sensed his mood and sighed.

"Mulder, our relationship has changed but we still want to be able to

work together. We have to be professional."

"Scully, I'll try, but it's always been the same between us, even before

we were abducted. We just didn't admit it to ourselves, or talk openly

about it."

"O.K. this isn't easy for me either." She looked away from him,

attempting to hide the fact that he was getting her excited. It didn't

work. He sensed that she was in the same mood he was.

"Alright. Let's get this out of the way so we can work." He pulled the

car over to the sidewalk. He moved closer to her and kissed her

deeply. They held each other close for a minute. "There, that ought to

hold us until tonight!"

Old Town, Virginia

9:30 A.M.

Mulder and Scully walked up to the old house listed in the case file.

Mulder extended a hand to help Scully walk up the steps, which were in

need of repair. He was surprised as she willingly took his hand.

Perhaps she is a bit unsteady now and doesn't want to fall and hurt the

baby.

Mulder rang the doorbell and a woman answered. "May I help you?"

Both Mulder and Scully took out their badges and held them up for her to

see. "Ma'am, I'm Agent Fox Mulder and this is my partner, Special Agent

Dana Scully. We're from the FBI. Can we come in and talk with you for

a few minutes?"

The woman looked a bit concerned, but then extended her hand to motion

them in. "Is this about what happened a few weeks ago?"

"This is about the report that was made about your son claiming that you

were frozen in place and that you didn't remember what happened, just

that day suddenly turned into night," Scully explained.

"Yes, that's right. In fact, my son is home from school today. He

wasn't feeling well. Let me get him. Please sit down on the couch

there." Mulder and Scully sat down. The woman returned with an

adorable little boy who looked shyly back at Mulder and Scully. He

looked about seven years old.

"Hi there! What's your name?" Mulder said in his most friendly voice.

Scully watched him interact with the little boy, looking forward to the

time when she could watch him and their son together.

The little boy responded, "Jimmy."

"Jimmy, could you tell us what happened to your mommy and daddy the day

you found them 'frozen'," Mulder asked.

"Well, they weren't really frozen. I mean they weren't cold. They just

didn't move at all. I was really scared. I kept trying to move them to

wake them up, but they were really stiff."

"What time of day did this happen?" Scully asked.

"When I came home from school. My mom and dad are usually home when I

get home but they didn't answer the door. I had to find the key we keep

hidden outside to get in."

The woman interjected, "My husband works from 6 to 2:30 and he is

usually home with me when Jimmy gets home. We only keep the key out

there in case we were late getting back from the store or something so

Jimmy wouldn't have to wait outside."

Jimmy continued, "They stayed that way until after it got dark. When

they finally woke up, they called the police to report it." The boy

pointed down at Scully's stomach. "Is there a baby in there?"

"Yes, in fact, it's a little boy." Scully turned to his mother. "Mrs.

Jordan, did you and your husband get examined by a doctor after this?"

Scully asked.

"No, we were fine and frankly, I don't think the police believed our

story," Mrs. Jordan answered.

"Jimmy, where did you find your mommy and daddy?" Mulder continued.

"They were in the kitchen, sitting at the table."

"Can we see your kitchen, Mrs. Jordan?" Mulder asked.

"Sure." She led them to the kitchen. Mulder pulled out a chair and

stood on it to examine the light fixture. He then moved it over to the

kitchen cabinets. He placed gloves on his hands and then ran his hands

along the surface above the cabinets. He stopped and pulled out a small

box that was hidden in the far corner. It had a faint orange smell to

it. He held it away from himself and pulled out a plastic bag to wrap

it in.

"What is that?" Mrs. Jordan asked.

"We will need to get it analyzed to tell you that," Mulder answered.

"Tell me, Mrs. Jordan, do you remember that morning at all?"

"All we remembered was the air freshener smell."

"The air freshener smell?" Scully asked.

"Yes, it smelled like someone suddenly sprayed the citrus air freshener

I have in the bathroom in the kitchen. When I checked later on, the can

was still in the bathroom that day. No one could have sprayed it."

"Thanks, Mrs. Jordan. Thanks, Jimmy."

Mulder and Dan left the house. "Let's get this to the lab."

Scully's apartment

8:30 P.M.

"Scul-ly?" Mulder asked playfully from the couch in Scully's apartment.

"Yes, Mul-der?" she responded as she sat down next to him.

"We are off work now. Tell me what fantasy you want to act out

tonight."

Scully smiled and spoke softly in his ear. "Mulder, I want to pretend

that we're married and have normal jobs and house with a white picket

fence..."

"Scully- is that what you really want?" Mulder asked with a hurt

expression on his face.

"No, all I really want is to be able to continue to work with you this

way. I want to share your passion, not just in the bedroom, but out

there- searching for the truth. It is what attracts me to you and if we

were to become "normal" (whatever that is!) I don't think we wouldn't be

attracted to each other any more." Scully looked into his eyes when she

said this.

"But what about our son? How will we raise him continuing to work this

way?" Mulder asked.

"We'll find a way. We aren't the only ones in this world that don't

lead a "normal" life. In fact, I don't know of very many people that

do," Scully added.

"Then why the fantasy of a normal life, Scully? Do you really want us

to get married?"

"Someday, Mulder. Not right now. I guess every woman has that

fantasy. But tonight, I just want it to be our fantasy, Mr. Mulder."

"OK, Mrs. Mulder. Or should it be Dr. Mulder?"

Mulder thought it might be nice to settle down in a small town to raise

their children. He pictured himself with an apron on standing on the

porch calling the kids in. Scully was coming home from seeing her

patients at the office. Scully kissed him on the cheek as he helped her

with her doctor's bag. Did you have a good day at work dear? he asked

her.

Scully noticed the faraway look on Mulder's face. "Penny for your

thoughts, Mulder."

"Can I wear an apron Scully?"

"So much for normal." She smiled at him and they ended the conversation

with a long, slow kiss.

Scully's apartment

The next morning

"Mulder, do you think I'm unattractive?" Scully asked as she looked at

her naked form sideways in the mirror. He sighed as he walked up behind

her and put his arms around her. "I know, I'm pregnant and need

reassurance."

"And like billions of men before me, I will give you the same response.

There is nothing more beautiful to a man than the woman that is carrying

his child." He turned her around to face him. "You have never been

more beautiful to me than you are at this moment." Scully smiled at

this. In a way she felt that Mulder was saying it because she needed to

hear it, but his eyes conveyed sincerity.

Mulder's cell phone rang. "Mulder. Ah, yes we are. We're stuck in

traffic." He covered up the receiver with his hand and spoke softly to

Scully. "Skinner. He thinks we're on our way in." He spoke into the

receiver again. "Sure, we can just head straight over there now." He

turned off the phone. "Get dressed, beautiful. We've found another

inhabitant."

Washington, D.C. General Hospital

9:27 A.M.

"Dr. Gates, why was this woman admitted to the psychiatric ward? I

thought we straightened this out the other day, " Scully protested.

"I'll tell you what, if you sign the release on this one, I'll let her

go too," the doctor replied a bit impatiently.

The doctor led them once again into the visiting room. "This is Jean

Rosewater, a mechanical engineer working for a major defense

contractor. Turns up after missing for over three months. This is the

second time she has turned up after being missing. The first time was a

couple of years ago. Oh, and one more thing. She's 8 weeks pregnant."

Mulder and Scully exchanged open-mouthed glances. Neither one could

speak for a full minute. Ms. Rosewater looked despondently away from

them. Scully broke the silence. "Jean, please tell us what happened."

There was no response. Scully added, "We believe that you were in the

same place we were taken."

Jean looked up at Scully's maternity blouse. "Do you have a chip in

your neck too?"

Scully shivered. Here was someone who shared all of her experiences.

"Yes, I do."

"Then you know all about the tests and the shock collars and the

videotapes. Why aren't you locked up here like I am?"

"We'll get you out of here. Could you help us by telling anything

else?"

"I never saw anyone and I don't have any idea where I was. One thing

that I can tell you is that they had me design this atomizer for them."

"An atomizer?" Scully asked. "You mean like a spraying system?"

"Yes, it was basically an aerosol can in a box that could be activated

by remote control. That was my job. They shocked me if I didn't do

what they asked me to do." She rubbed her neck.

"We just need to know, well, how did you get pregnant?" Mulder asked.

He felt awkward asking the question, but he had to know. He regretted

asking it even more when Jean started sobbing quietly.

"Mulder, this is too painful for her," Scully insisted.

"No, it's OK. I guess I need to talk to someone who can relate to what

happened to me. He must still be there. They let me go but I don't

know where he is."

"Where who is?" Mulder asked.

"His name is Mark White. We were put in the same room. They made it

almost impossible for us not to have sex with each other. It was

obvious what they were doing. Finally we couldn't stand it anymore. I

mean..." She blushed. Scully was tempted to stop her but Mulder put his

hand in front of her to signal Scully to let her continue. "Well, we

were very attracted to each other and, well now I'm pregnant and he is

probably still there."

Mulder and Scully exchanged glances. Finally Mulder nodded at Scully.

"He was brought here, but he didn't mention you. Maybe he didn't

remember you. We didn't remember what happened to us at first either."

Scully was trying not to hurt the woman.

"Can you reach him and let him know I'm here? I probably wouldn't have

mentioned him either if you didn't ask me how I got pregnant."

Scully and Mulder called Mark White and asked him to come back to the

hospital for a meeting. He agreed to come down while they waited for

him. When he walked into the ward and saw Jean, he hesitated for a

moment before he recognized her, then ran to her arms and held her

tight. "I was so afraid that you were still there! I'm so glad you're

safe," he told her.

"Mark, they told me I'm pregnant," she disclosed.

"That's wonderful, Jean! But you told me that you were infertile!"

"They must have reversed the condition somehow," she added, content with

his acceptance of her pregnancy.

Fox Mulder's FBI Basement Office

3:30 P.M.

"Well, more pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place, but there is

still no big picture to see. Let's see- we have two engineers that were

tasked to build a spray system to temporarily paralyze people. These

same two engineers are also used to test the reversal of the infertility

that resulted from previous tests performed on one of them. Then we

have two people who were used to test the effectiveness of the orange

blossom freeze spray." Fox Mulder's voice increased slightly in volume

as he stated this, reflecting his frustration.

"We still don't know who did this, why they did it or where they did

it. Not even a clue. They're good, Mulder." She paused to watch him

think. "You don't think that they're aliens do you?"

"Little greys, Scully?" he asked with his charming smile. She loved

the way he smiled at her. "I don't know what to think. All we ever saw

was machines. Neither Mark nor Jean saw anyone either." He snapped his

fingers and shook his hand. "That must be it, Scully!"

"What, Mulder? Invisible aliens?"

"No, Scully- there are only machines!"

"OK, Mulder. It's possible. But someone must have programmed them.

This isn't a case of who came first, the chicken or the egg; people came

first before the machine."

"Yes, but what if the machine were part of some military defense

intelligence project left to run wild on its own, unattended. It could

task people to do its work, just as we were tasked to do things."

"Interesting, even plausible, theory Mulder. I just see it as a bit

farfetched."

"Ahh! Scully the skeptic labeling one of my theories "plausible," music

to my ears!"

Atlantic Medical Center Maternity Ward

Friday, November 20th

"Breathe, Dana!" Mulder held Scully's hand and tried not to wince when

she squeezed it as hard as she could. "How are you doing?"

"I've told you a thousand times! I'm fine!" she stated, the pain

showing in her voice. The contraction ended slowly and they both

relaxed.

Labor continued on for a few more hours. Scully wanted Mulder to go get

something to eat but he wouldn't leave her side. Her labor had

intensified and she was in a great deal of pain.

The doctor determined that the baby was ready to be born and announced

that he was about to deliver the child. Mulder continued to stay at

Scully's side, holding her hand.

"Go ahead and push, Dana," the doctor instructed her. After letting out

a scream, Scully heard another scream- her son's cries.

"You two are the proud parents of a healthy baby boy!" Both Scully and

Mulder had tears in their eyes as the doctor handed the baby to them.

Mulder kissed Scully briefly and they continued to look into each

other's teary eyes. "I love you both so very much, Dana."

"I love you both more than I can say, Fox!"

Scully's new house

Two days later

"Welcome home, Fox, Dana and little Sam!" Everyone exclaimed as Mulder

brought Scully and the newest member of their family into their new

home. Scully had insisted that they call the baby Samuel, after

Mulder's sister Samantha. They had recently purchased the home, under

Scully's name, so that they could have a bigger place to store all the

baby paraphernalia. Mulder continued to keep his apartment so that they

wouldn't break any FBI rules about working together. Of course, they

were both under family leave for a while, so this really didn't matter

to them.

All of Scully's family was there, except Charles, and Mulder's mother

had come as well. Skinner had come as well. Out of respect for the new

mother and her child, who both needed their rest, no one stayed very

long.

Bill Scully and Tara were last to leave. It seemed that Bill couldn't

resist a chance to upset Mulder one more time. "Well, Mulder- when are

you going to marry my sister? Don't you think it's about time you two

gave up chasing little green men and thought a little bit more about the

welfare of my nephew?"

Very calmly, Mulder answered, "Well actually, Bill, we thought we'd have

Sammy join us in the chase- once he learns how to run, of course."

Mulder smiled at Bill and extended his hand. To both Tara's and

Scully's surprise, Bill's look of disdain changed to a slight smile and

shook Mulder's hand.

"I know you won't let anything happen to them, Mulder. You know how it

feels to be a father now," Bill added.

"I do. And I won't let anything happen to them." Their smiles had

changed to serious looks as they parted.

"Mulder, thank you." Scully told him as he shut the door.

"For what? Not responding with what he really deserved?" Scully sighed

and brought him over to the baby's crib.

"Look at him. He is truly an angel. I can't believe he came from us,"

Scully spoke softly.

"Well, I can believe he came from you, Dana. You are truly heavenly."

He smiled at the way she enjoyed his romantic comments. He never felt

comfortable saying them for some reason, but he always made the effort

because he could see how much she enjoyed them. They kissed quietly in

front of the little angel who had started to awaken for his feeding.

Wednesday, March 3rd

FBI Building

AD Skinner's Office

"How does it feel to be back at work, you two?" Skinner asked them.

Mulder and Scully looked at each other. "Well, we are a bit nervous

about leaving Sam," Mulder answered.

"But your mother is watching him, right Agent Scully?" the Assistant

Director asked.

"Yes, but we were just so used to being there with him all the time.

We'll get used to it," Scully reassured them, and herself.

"I miss him terribly and I offered to quit work, marry Scully and play

househusband but she wouldn't let me," Mulder whined.

"I said I would think about it," Scully played along. At some points in

the past few months, she actually believed Mulder would be happy staying

at home, changing diapers and watching daytime TV- for a while at

least. She knew it wouldn't last for either of them. She needed to

work just as much as he did. Even though she missed Sam. The past few

months had been the best of their lives, but it was time to go back to

work.

"Well, get back to work or you both won't have a choice in the matter,"

Skinner said teasingly as he handed Scully the case file.

Both returned to Mulder's basement office. "At least someone dusted the

place while we were gone, Scully." They were both happy to be back.

Scully laid out the case file on Mulder's desk.

"Hmmm... what is it this time? A monster in the sewers of New Jersey

again?" he asked her playfully.

"No, Mulder, this time it's a machine gone crazy."

"Uh, oh... You don't suppose this could be related to my plausible

theory, Scully?"

"No Mulder, this time it's not a computer, it's an automobile."

"Scully, they have computers in them. What did the Christine car do?"

"Well, it apparently took off by itself and drove itself off the cliff,"

Scully answered.

"Well, Scully, was it a new car or an old car?"

"You mean an old car, like Christine, Mulder?"

"No, I mean was it a new car with a computer?"

"Oh, OK, we're back to the plausible theory. Yes, it was still under

warranty in fact," Scully added. "It was found to be mechanically

sound. No signs of failures or malfunctions."

"Did they check the computer controlled circuitry?" Mulder didn't

actually believe that this was related to their case, yet.

"No, they didn't Mulder. At least there is no mention of it here."

"Come on, Scully, let's go find that car."

"It feels just like old times, Mulder!"

Paterson's Garage

10:45 A.M.

"Here's the microprocessor you're looking for. Could be no good,

considering. But we can't figure out what happened. It's a good thing

no one got killed." The garage mechanic was about 20-25 years old and

had dark curly hair. For some reason, maybe Scully looked at him too

long, Mulder was a bit jealous.

"Come on Scully, let's get going." He grabbed a hold of her arm.

"Don't you think I should stay and talk with him some more? You could

return the chip to the lab if you're in a hurry, Mulder."

"What is it about him that you're attracted to, Scully? What does he

have that I don't?"

"Mulder, stop it. I'm not attracted to him. Oh alright, I think he's

cute, but that's it. You're much better looking! I can't believe how

insecure you are. What's wrong with you all of a sudden?"

"I guess I was used to having you all to myself for the last few months,

Scully, and now I am back to sharing you with the world."

"Well, you are a very attractive man, and I guess I feel the same way

you do!"

"You have nothing to worry about, Dana. You know that."

"Well, neither do you."

FBI Crime Laboratory

2:13 P.M.

"I've compared this chip to the other chip and it is definitely not the

same," the technician noted.

"What's different about it?" Mulder asked.

"I can't tell because it's inoperable now, but the patterns are slightly

different- see?" He moved away from the microscopes he had set up side

to side. Mulder and Scully took turns looking at the two chips.

"Thank you," Scully told the technician. Both Scully and Mulder

returned to Mulder's basement office.

"This doesn't make sense. No one was hurt. In fact, none of the people

involved had any enemies. No one had any reasons why they would want to

hurt them. The car goes off a cliff empty. Why?" Scully asked.

"Another test?" Mulder asked. "Maybe my plausible theory is very

plausible after all."

"I'm not convinced this has anything to do with your theory, Mulder."

"What we need now is another ex-inhabitant ASIC engineer who was tasked

to modify automobile computer chips," Mulder added.

Scully sighed. "I guess I don't want to believe this has anything to do

with our abduction because I was so happy to have put that behind us

these past few months."

Mulder put his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead. "Me too."

Mulder's cellular phone rang. "Mulder... Yes, we're back in business.

Sure. We'll be over as soon as we can get there." Mulder turned off

his cell phone and grabbed his papers. "It was the Lone Gunmen. They

say that they have evidence that a computer has independently taken

another computer over and they are tracing it down. Let's go."

On the way there, Scully thought about Mulder's theory. A computer

system run amuck with no one at the controls? There were science

fiction stories about that happening, mostly about computers protecting

themselves from being turned off, but something like this had to have

someone pushing the buttons. But who? The Wizard of Oz image came to

mind and she longed to get back to Kansas. After all, it was feeding

time and she wanted to be with Sam.

The three Lone Gunmen let Mulder and Scully in. "Mulder, we've almost

got it! Another 10-20 hours and we should have the exact location of

the computer that took the other one over," Frohike exclaimed.

Byers was at the screen. Mulder asked him what the compromised computer

was. "It's only a small firm that manufactures automobiles in the

Midwest, but this could be just practice for bigger and better things."

Scully looked over at Mulder and smiled weakly. It was a long first day

back. "Was it the same automobile firm that manufactured the car that

went off the cliff?" Mulder glanced over at the screen and nodded yes.

He explained the connection to the three Lone Gunmen.

"Well, I guess we'll check with you in the morning to see if you've

found the location. Right now, Scully and I need to get back home to

our little boy."

"Give him a kiss for us, Scully." As Mulder and Scully walked away they

could hear Frohike saying, "Lucky little boy."

Langley immediately responded with, "Frohike, get over it! Remember who

the father of that little boy is."

"I'm sorry, I just can't bring myself to believe it..."

Scully's house

5:30 P.M.

"Here's Mommy and Daddy!" Maggie greeted Mulder and Scully at the door

with Sam in her arms.

"How was he, Mom?" Scully asked as she and Mulder took Sam into their

arms to hug him.

"Oh, he was OK. A bit cranky before his naptime, nothing out of the

ordinary. I'm going to go home now and leave the three of you to get

reacquainted."

"Thanks Mom."

"Oh, it's my pleasure." Mrs. Scully kissed Sam and left.

"Mommy and Daddy missed you, sweetie!" Scully told her smiling baby.

"Mulder, let's order in and watch an old movie."

"Sounds good to me." Mulder felt a bit strange. Life was too perfect

and when things got that way, you worried that someone or something

would come by and take all your happiness away from you.

The Lone Gunmen's Place

The next morning

"Here it is Mulder. Somewhere in the middle of the Arizona desert,"

Langley handed the paper over to Mulder. Mulder looked over at

Scully. They both knew what this meant. Mulder would have to leave her

and Sam behind to go there. They both knew it was bound to happen

sooner or later, but they didn't think it would be the second day back

on the job.

"Thanks, you guys. I'll let you know what I find," he told them.

"You aren't going by yourself, are you Mulder?" Byers asked.

"I can't bring Scully with me. She needs to stay with Sam."

"Mulder, I need to get back into a normal routine eventually, why not

now."

"No, Scully. What if this is the place where they took us? What if

something happens to both of us if you come too? Who will take care of

Sam?"

"Mulder, we've discussed this before. I thought we agreed..."

"Scully, just not this time, please. I have a bad feeling about this."

They stopped by the house to pick up Sam. They drove to the airport.

With Sam in her arms, Scully kissed Mulder good by as he left to catch

his plane. "Mulder, I know I don't say it enough, but I love you.

Please come back home to us as soon as you can. "

"I love you two so much!" With teary eyes, he left the two of them for

the first time.

Phoenix Airport

Later that night

Mulder picked up a rental car and map and drove out to the location that

the Lone Gunmen had pointed out. There was nothing there but a vast

area of sand. It was already dark and he thought he might have missed

something so he drove back the way he came. He called Scully to see how

they were. "We're OK. We just miss Daddy, that's all."

Reassured that they were OK without him, he called the Lone Gunmen to

see why they had led him astray. "Mulder, use the GPS receiver we gave

you. Drive towards the coordinates we wrote down and call us back."

Mulder did as they instructed. He was still out in the middle of

nowhere. Frustrated, he called them back. "Well? Where the hell is

this place?"

"It is right underneath you, Mulder! The facility must be underground,"

Langley stated. Mulder got out of his car and looked around. Nothing

but sand. He continued to walk around until he heard a strange metal

noise underfoot. He took out his flashlight and brushed the sand away

to expose a metal door of some sort.

"I got lucky, guys! I found a door. Wish me luck." With that he shut

the cell phone off and lifted the door up. It was dark inside and he

descended down a ladder for quite some time. There was a loud

mechanical fan noise that would prevent anyone from hearing him.

However, a flashlight might have been seen.

After quite some time, he got to the bottom of the stairs. He felt a

wall and walked along side of it like a blind rat, making sure to

remember the way he had come.

He reached a door and opened it. A blinding light filled the room. He

was back.

He quickly shut the door again. Think, Mulder! What do you do now?

You've found this place, now go back to your kid and his mother and call

the ATF in. That would be the smart thing to do, so why can't you do

it? Scully, Sammy, please forgive me! He opened the door and went

in. There was no one around. If this entire complex is controlled by

a computer, I can disable it. He remembered that Scully and he thought

they found the control room behind Room 375, where they were taken for

the tests. However, he also remembered that Room 375 was locked and

that they had to open the electric lock with a discharge from their

collars. It helps to be prepared. Mulder pulled out his stun gun.

This ought to do the trick.

He moved quickly down the empty hallways, hoping that it was sleeping

time. Of course, he always suspected that only some of the inhabitants

were on the same clock, so that still might not mean that he had much

time. He found the eating area where he had first found Scully. He

remembered the bittersweet feelings he had about finding her there. He

felt good about her being there with him, but bad about her being

subjected to harm.

From there he knew where Room 375 was. He remembered how tortured he

felt when Scully left him to go there. It turned out that they made it

possible for them to have Sam there, so it wasn't all bad. Sam. He

really missed that cute smiling face right now.

Scully's house

"It's OK Sammy, baby. Daddy will be home soon and he will make those

funny faces and strange noises you love." Scully was worried and

couldn't sleep. Usually it was Mulder who couldn't sleep, but this was

his first night away since they had the baby and she missed him. As if

that wasn't bad enough, she began having horrible thoughts about him

being back in that place alone.

The phone rang. "Hello? Is he OK? What do you mean you don't know?

OK. Thank you for calling, Frohike." He is back in that place and I

can't do anything to help him.

That night Scully watched the Cary Grant movie "Penny Serenade" again.

She remembered the first time she and Mulder had watched it together.

It had a strange parallel to their recent life together. First losing

the ability to have children, then having difficulty adopting a little

girl, then losing the adopted little girl. Finally, they adopt a little

boy. This time, she cried at the happy ending, because Mulder wasn't

there to cry with her. God, he has to be OK.!

Somewhere in the middle of the Arizona desert

Using the stun gun to deactivate the lock, Mulder made his way into Room

375. This time there were unconscious people strapped to the gurneys.

Tubes ran into and out of them. Some were on respirators. No where was

there anyone attending them. Having been caught from behind the last

time, he stayed up against the wall with his gun drawn. He made his way

over to the control room door. As he opened the door, he smelled the

orange blossom smell, but it was too late...

The Lone Gunmen's Place

The next day

"No one has heard from him. You have got to tell me where you sent

him. We have got to send the ATF in. I don't know why he didn't do

that in the first place! Damn him!" Scully stamped her foot on the

floor like a spoiled brat.

Langley immediately provided her with the GPS coordinates. "His car

should be right there and the door he found was very close by," he

assured her. We will do whatever it takes to help you find him,

Scully."

She used her cell phone to summon help. However, it wasn't easy for

Scully to convince anyone to go out there. After all, her story was

considered bizarre. "I'll go out there myself if I have to."

"You won't go out there alone. Let one of us go with you," Langley

offered.

"OK, Langley, you can come with me." She called her mother and asked

her to spend the night with Sam.

"But Dana, its dangerous!" her mother protested.

"What I was doing before was dangerous, so nothing has changed," Scully

relied.

"But you have a son now, Dana."

"Mom, many people with dangerous jobs have children. Mulder and I made

the decision to continue working. I've got to find him. He's my

partner."

Her mother relented and let out a deep sigh. "Be careful, dear."

"Give Sam a kiss for me Mom."

Scully and Langley drove out to where Mulder's car was and began looking

for the metal door he described.

Inside the facility, Mulder found himself once again in the familiar

little white room with the VCR. "Oh, no!" he shouted as he discovered

the collar around his neck. Without Scully, there was no way he could

short it out so that it wouldn't shock him. His clothes were gone and

he was back in the hospital garb/prison uniform. Of course, his gun and

stun gun were gone. Maybe it will be alright. Maybe Scully will call

in the ATF, like I should have done. I forgot the orange blossom

spray. He stuck the tape in the VCR. The familiar voice spoke.

[Welcome new inhabitant. Please remain calm. What follow are the

rules for your stay. You will awaken each day at the sound of the

bell. You will take a shower and change your clothing...]

Mulder shut the tape off. He had heard it all before. At least they

don't know I've been here before. They must think I got my collar off

somehow and they had to get me a new one. The collar must be how they

track us.

The bell rang and the door opened. It was time for a feeding session.

Mulder followed the others to the feeding area. He almost jumped out of

his chair when he saw both Scully and Langley sitting at another table.

OK. My brain has been fried or those are clones. In fact, maybe they

think I am a clone of myself. This is getting way too confusing.

Scully and Langley looked over at Mulder. Scully gave him a reassuring

look. She adjusted her collar. She showed him that it was cut. The

feeding session was over and once again, Scully followed Mulder to his

room. Langley disappeared.

Once inside with the door closed, Mulder couldn't stop hugging Scully.

At the same time he was angry with her. "Why did you come?"

"I needed to find you before they used you as a stud for some other

woman."

"That isn't funny, Scully. What about Sam?"

"He's fine with my Mom, Mulder."

Scully had a bag underneath her clothing. She had wire cutters that she

used to cut his collars off. She and Langley had used them earlier on a

couple of inhabitants that they had stunned with a stun gun to steal

their clothing and collars from. She also had two guns with her.

"Where's Langley, Scully?"

"He went back to the car to wait, just in case we aren't successful in

getting you out of here. But first, we are going to get these people

out of here and nuke that control center."

It was their sleeping period and they were forced to spend the time in

the small white room. "Scully, all my memories of this place aren't

bad."

"Do you realize that this is our first night alone without our son,

Mulder?"

"I guess we really don't have a choice but to enjoy it. Want to tango,

Scully?"

"We don't even need a rose this time, Mulder..."

They awoke to take their showers and get dressed. "I can't believe we

actually found this place and came back here, Scully! It's almost like

the castaways ending up on Gilligan's Island again after being rescued."

"Mulder, we need to get ready to go over to Room 375. Here, take a

gun. We'll take our collars off as soon as the others can't see us,

just in case some of them have been programmed to turn us in."

"But Scully, what about the orange blossom spray?"

"Thanks for reminding me, Mulder. I had the lab provide me with both

the analysis and an antidote. Here take these."

"You never cease to amaze me, enigmatic Doctor Scully."

She smiled and kissed him. "This is why I want to work, Mulder. It

would be a waste of talent if I didn't," she added jokingly.

The doors opened and they waited until everyone had moved over to the

feeding area. They quickly made their way over to the 300 series

hallway and over to Room 375. "Now Scully, I have to warn you, there

are people on tables with tubes and wires running in and out of them."

"And this is supposed to bother me, Mulder? I cut up dead people."

They shorted out the door lock and went in, back to back so that they

couldn't be taken from behind. The tables were empty.

They made their way slowly to the control room door, once again. This

time there would be no mistakes made. Mulder opened the door and the

orange spray scent filled the air. Although it irritated their eyes a

bit, they continued to move into the room. Mulder reached what looked

like the main control panel and placed the timed explosive on it. They

quickly moved towards the feeding area with the cutters. "It's time to

free everyone!" They shouted, using the cutters to cut everyone's neck

collars away. They could keep the elbow collars on until later, since

they were useless without the neck collars. They led everyone to the

exit, where Langley was waiting with the ATF. The ATF moved in and made

sure all the rooms were emptied.

Scully and Mulder drove their vehicle to a safe distance away from the

facility to watch the explosion. "Scully, that was where our son was

conceived. Don't you feel just a bit of sadness?"

They both looked at each other and said, "No!"

"Let's go home!"

On the airplane home, Scully asked Mulder, "Why is it that whenever we

solve a case, it leaves so many questions unanswered. Just once, I

would like to know all the reasons why things happened, who was

responsible, etc." Scully looked at Mulder who was just smiling back at

her. "I know, that's why they're X-Files... Mulder, will you watch

Penny Serenade with me tonight. I watched it the other night without

you and it just wasn't the same."

"Sure Scully. Right after we give that wonderful baby of ours a hug and

a kiss goodnight!"

Scully snuggled up next to Mulder. Giving up a marriage certificate

wasn't much to be able to have it all. They could wait.

Please send me feedback! annette@ix.netcom.com

Aubrey


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